Blue Bloods' Amy Carlson: It's Getting Harder for Linda to Be a Cop's Wife
It's a rite of passage for every cop show to put its leading man in harm's way, and Blue Bloods is no different.
Actually, it is slightly different, if you ask Amy Carlson.
"I think in a lot of shows it's just the cop in danger, but here, we have his whole family in danger, which I thought was a little unusual," she tells TVGuide.com. "It's definitely more powerful that way. And it all goes so much further than just nearly being killed."
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On Friday's episode, Danny (Donnie Wahlberg), Linda (Carlson) and their sons, Sean (Andrew Terraciano) and Jack (Tony Terraciano), get caught in the crossfire when Danny hits a man with his car. The man was being pursued by a gunman, who then takes aim at Danny. "It's a pretty intense scene, mostly because it's so random," Carlson says. "You go from happy time with the family and all of the sudden you're in the middle of this crazy situation."
The skirmish not only sends Danny on a manhunt for the shooter, but raises serious questions for Linda as a wife and a mother. Aside from a few minor tiffs, Linda has so far been the poster child for the loving and endlessly supportive wife of a cop. This time, though, she asks Danny to go off the case for their family's sake.
"Linda has one very big problem that I don't know how she's going to overcome and that is that she is totally in love with her husband. She supports him no matter what, but this is such a delicate territory now," Carlson says. "I think they've always been 'agree to disagree.' We agree to disagree that this is really not great and yet it's who you are. She believes in what he does and she has to again come to terms with the fact that her husband is in an incredibly dangerous profession. But I think as time goes on, it's getting harder for her to be a cop's wife."
Making things even more difficult is the fact that their kids were involved, forcing them to deal with gun safety earlier than they had anticipated. It's another case of "agree to disagree" between Danny and Linda over when and how to broach the subject with their boys.
"One of our technical advisers said the same thing happened in his home. Cop families have guns in their houses," she says. "It's a bigger question for mothers. When is the right time to introduce to your children the things that could hurt them? But not having the knowledge could hurt them. It's such a major dilemma. I love that scene. There is no easy answer and yet you do have to be responsible and teach your kids. I think in that moment, she knows a choice has to be made, but it just plain stinks. In an ideal world, it could've been, like, four more years before he had to know what this world was about."
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This incident is only the beginning in what will be a bigger look at Linda and Danny's relationship the rest of the season. In an upcoming episode, Danny's friend is murdered and his job once again becomes a hot topic that is "going to be a struggle," Carlson says.
But despite all their issues over his job, Carlson doesn't foresee Danny ever giving up his badge.
"He's the least likely to give up his career out of all the Reagans, and honestly, even if she asks him to, I don't think she ultimately wants him to. She will always support him and this will just always be part of who they are. I always liken them to Coach Taylor and Tami [from Friday Night Lights]. I dream of being like Coach and Tami! They had their issues too, but that didn't split them up. [This episode] is just the beginning of you seeing the strength of their relationship."
Blue Bloods airs Fridays at 10/9c on CBS.
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